A
chimney starter is a metal cylinder with a charcoal grate mounted
inside. Unlit charcoal is placed into the top of
the cylinder and newspaper is placed into the bottom, under the grate.
When the newspaper is lit, it burns and lights the charcoal above. The
"chimney effect" causes the charcoal to light from the bottom all the
way up to the top.

In my opinion, the best
chimney on the market is the Weber
Chimney Starter. It holds more charcoal than most—approximately 100 briquettes
or 6 pounds worth of Kingsford Charcoal Briquets. It's
well-built, rust-resistant, and has two sturdy handles for safe handling
of hot charcoal.

The remainder of this
article explains how
to use a Weber Chimney Starter. The process is the same regardless of
how much charcoal you're lighting or whether you're using briquettes or
lump charcoal.

Remember...click on any
of the pictures to view a larger image.

Chimney Starter Safety Tips

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

Wear
heat-resistant gloves whenever handling a hot chimney starter.

Remember that
a chimney will remain hot for a while even after the charcoal has been
poured out.

Never place a
chimney starter on or near flammable materials like a wooden deck or
dry grass.

Important: Never light a chimney starter directly on a concrete
surface. Heat from the chimney may cause the concrete to
explode, damaging the concrete surface and possibly causing physical
injury.

Photos 1-2 from Greg Caesar of Houston, TX, show the damage caused
by a chimney starter on his concrete
driveway.

Safe
locations to light a chimney include:

On the WSM
charcoal grate

On the grate of another grill

On fire-safe
bricks placed on your deck or patio (Photo 3)

On a terra cotta
flower pot saucer without a drain hole (Photos 4-5)

Lighting A Chimney Starter Using
Newspaper

Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7

Photo 8

Using a double-wide sheet of newspaper, roll loosely
on the diagonal from one corner to the other.
Bring the ends together to form a donut that fits inside the chimney
starter (Photo 5).

Repeat with a second sheet of newspaper.

Stick the two newspaper donuts in
the bottom of the chimney (Photo 6). Note that this leaves a hole in the center for air to flow up through the
newspaper for faster lighting.

Turn the chimney
right-side up, place it on a fire-safe surface, and fill it with the
amount of charcoal you want to light.

Light the newspaper in several locations. You'll begin to see smoke coming out
the top of the chimney starter (Photo 7).

After the newspaper has
burned completely, wait 1-2 minutes, then hold your hand over the chimney...you should
feel the heat of the coals starting to light.

It will take 10-20 minutes for the coals to light, depending on wind conditions, how much charcoal
is in the chimney, and the type of charcoal being used.

The charcoal is ready when you see
orange color deep inside the chimney starter, flames licking at the
charcoal at the top of the chimney, and gray ash
just starting to form on some of the charcoal at the top (Photo 8).

If you wait for all of the
charcoal at the top of the chimney to be fully ashed-over, much of the charcoal in the bottom of
the chimney will be spent, so go ahead and dump the charcoal into your
cooker when it looks like Photo 8.

Lighting
Small Amounts Of Charcoal

Photo 9

Photo
10

Photo
11

Photo
12

Sometimes you need to light just a few briquettes. Here are three ways to light
small amounts of charcoal more effectively:

Turn the chimney
starter upside down and place the charcoal in the bottom—which is now the
top (Photos 9-10). Thanks to Scott Holy for sharing this tip with
TVWB.

Bank all the briquettes against one side
of the chimney (Photo 11).

Put
the briquettes inside a small bottomless coffee can (Photo 12).

Use any of these
methods and light as usual from below.

Applying
Vegetable Oil To Newspaper

Here's a neat trick that makes newspaper burn longer
in a chimney starter.

After putting the
newspaper inside the chimney, give it a light spray of non-stick cooking
spray. This makes the newspaper last longer because it won't burn until
all of the oil burns
away first.

Alternatives
To Newspaper

Photo
13

Photo
14

Photo
15

Photo
16

Photo
17

Photo
18

One
complaint about using newspaper in a chimney starter is that the leftover ashes can
blow around in windy conditions. If this bothers you, there are several alternatives to consider.

Alcohol-based liquid gel
starters (Photo 15) are squirted onto the charcoal
and lit. Gel starters should not be confused with charcoal lighter
fluids, as they contain no foul-smelling petroleum products. Brands
include Stove Bright Fire Starter and Duraflame Fresh Light.

Sawdust starters (Photo
16) are
made of recycled sawdust and paraffin wax. Cut or break into chunks,
place several pieces under the chimney, and light. Popular brands
include Rutland SafeLite Fire Starters, Duraflame Quickstart, and
Duraflame Firestart.

Diamond Strike-A-Fire
(Photo 17) is "The 12-Minute Match/Fire Starter In
One." It consists of a thin sawdust/paraffin strip with a match
head coating on one end. Strike against the lighting strip on the box
and place under the
chimney.

Wick chafing fuel
(Photo 18)
such as Sterno Wick, is designed to heat food in a chafing dish,
but some folks swear by them for lighting a chimney. Light the wick
and place under the chimney for 10 minutes. These disposable units
burn 2-6 hours and can be purchased wherever catering supplies are
sold.

A few sheets of
paper towel sprayed with non-stick cooking spray will get your
charcoal started, and since it burns more completely than newspaper, it
makes less of a mess.

Some folks
light chimneys over the gas side burner on a gas grill or over a
turkey deep-fryer burner. Be careful when using a gas side
burner...if you leave the chimney on too long your side burner may
experience a meltdown!

The Virtual Weber Bullet is your best source for Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker information and discussion on the Web. Popular with competition barbecue teams, the WSM is an easy-to-use water smoker that's equally at home in the backyard. See the WSM and its component parts; get recipes, usage tips, and modification ideas; check-out BBQ-related resources; and discuss the WSM with owners and enthusiasts in our online forums.

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